PREYER, Virgil H. Brother Virgil H. Preyer entered Omega chapter on December 18, 1989. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and was the first of three children born to the late Virgel Henry Sr. and Marie Hart Preyer. Brother Preyer was i n i t i a t e d i n t o Pi L a m b d a chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha in December of 1956. He was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War serving as a commissioned officer with the rank of 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Brother Preyer received his B.S. degree from Philander Smith College in Little Rock and graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law with a Juris Doctorate Degree. He was a member of St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, The American Legion, Arkansas Bar Association, National Association of Retired Federal Employees and the American Association of Retired Persons. Brother Preyer served his community well in Little Rock by serving as chairman of the Boy Scouts of America and as a member of the Council of Community Affairs. Brother Preyer was an active member of Pi Lambda until an extended illness occurred. Omega services were conducted at Dubisson Funeral Home with final rites at his church. Brother Preyer is survived by a devoted wife of 39 years, Lilla Blake Preyer and a loving daughter, Lilla Yvette Preyer. Other survivors include his brother Emanuel Preyer and two nieces, Marie Bowe and Cynthia Robinson.
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REID, Franklin Madison Jr. The first of two funeral services for AME Church Bishop Frank Madison Reid, Jr., was held at Bethel AME Church in Chicago, Illinois on Monday, August 27, 1989 with an overflow of some three-thousand persons in attendance. Senior AME Church Bishop John Hurst Adams of Atlanta, Georgia and Presi ding Bishop of the Sixth Episcopal District (Georgia) delivered the Eulogy. The second funeral service for Bishop Reid was held at the 6,500 member Bethel AME Church in Baltimore, Maryland where his son, Rev. Frank M. Reid, III, serves as pastor. Bishop H. Hartford Brookins, Presiding Bishop of the Second Episcopal District (Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina) delivered the Eulogy. The 26 member AME Church Bishops' Council, along with the AME Zion Bishop Clinton R. Coleman of Baltimore (and a former colleague and pastor with Bishop Reid), as well as AME Zion Bishop George W. Walker of Chicago, participated in the services. Brother Frank Madison Reid, Jr. was born March 12, 1927 in Danville, Kentucky, the eldest son of AME Bishop Frank Madison Reid, Sr., and Veatrice Victoria Andrews Reid. As a child of the parsonage, Frank Reid grew up in a Christian environment, and at the age of 17, he became the fourth generation AME preacher in his family. Bishop Reid was an intellect, a voracious reader, and a man committed to a ministry that informed as well as inspired. He attended the public schools in St. Louis, Missouri; Wilberforce University, Garrett Theological Seminary in Chicago; the University of Chicago and Boston University. He became the first Bishop's son to be elevated to the episcopacy in the history of the AME Church at the 1972 AME General Conference held in Dallas, Texas. T h e S p h i n x / S p r i n g 1990
Bishop Reid was a member of numerous religious and civic organizations. He was a past president of the national Partners in Ecumenism (PIE); a life member of the NAACP; and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and an ardent supporter of the Urban League. Bishop Reid was a devoted husband and father. His life and witness is celebrated by his wife, Irene Bennett Reid; his son, Rev. Frank M. Reid, III; four daughters, Adrenise Veatrice Reid, Vanessa Reid-Lewter, Stephanie Diane Reid and Karla Francette Miriam Reid; a stepson, Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland; a brother, Rev. George Ransom Reid of Kansas City, Missouri; a niece, Gina Ann Jordan; a nephew, George R. Reid, Jr.; and many other relatives and friends.
t*t SANSON, James Joseph Jr. Brother James Joseph Sanson Jr., age 72, entered Omega Chapter July 15, 1989; Raleigh, North Carolina. He was an Alpha Man for 53 years. Brother Sansom was born in Atlanta Georgia, November 4, 1916. He received his early e d u c a t i o n in A t l a n t a a n d Augusta and graduated from the Laboratory High School of Atlanta University. H e earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business from Morehouse College and Atlanta University, respectively. He was also a graduate of the North Carolina Central University's School of Law, where he served as an Associate Professor on its faculty. Brother Sansom had a rather extensive banking career; it began in 1939 at Mechanics and Farmers Bank where he was employed as a teller at its Durham office. In 1958 he became Vice President-Manager of its Releigh, Branch. Later he became Senior Vice President and in 1978 became President and Chairman of the Board. Following retirement in 1987 he continued to serve the Bank as a Consultant. Brother Sansom was involved in many civic, business, e d u c a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s , a m o n g t h e s e were: Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina, Board of Trustees St. Augustine's College, Morehouse College Alumni Association, North Carolina Bankers Association, member of NAACP, Wake C o u n t y Board of Elections, Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association and others. Brother Sansom received an honorary doctoral degree from St. Augustine's College. The National Bar Association bestowed its highest honor on him in 1987; when he was inducted into its Hall of Fame. Brother James Joseph Sansom, Jr., is survived by his wife Vivian McCotta Merrick, and two sons and two daughters Joseph Merrick Sansom, of Raleigh; Beryl Vivian Gilmore of Kensington, Maryland; Genevieve Stewart of New York City, and James Edward Sansom of Washington, D. C. Additionally, he is survived by one sister, Jenny Hubbard of Atlanta; a daughter-in-law, Sarah Smith Sansom; two sons-in-law, Al-Tony Gilmore and Michael Stewart and five grandchildren - Karen Sansom, Jack and Genevieve Gilmore, Brandi and Morgan Stewart. Blessed with limitless energy, compassion and intellect, Brother Sansom will be remembered for his unselfish devotion of service to mankind and the communities in which he lived; Atlanta, Durham, Winston-Salem and Raleigh.
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